The merger of Lake Junaluska with the town of Waynesville cleared a critical milestone in the N.C. General Assembly last week and finally seemed headed for passage, but was sidelined again at the 11th hour.

Waynesville town leaders plan to broker a sit-down between Frog Level merchants and the Open Door soup kitchen in coming weeks to discuss an on-going conflict over a loose-knit band of homeless people who spend their days loitering and drinking on the streets.

Two short years ago, Fay Grant was living on the other side of the country, a professional music editor for film and television shows in Los Angeles’ bustling entertainment scene. It was a different world altogether from the sleepier mountain town of Waynesville, where she and her husband Ben now make their home.

She doesn’t regret the move.

Something was missing from life in L.A. She wanted to do something different, something that made a difference. So, Grant took a few months off for a road trip across the country, and that drive, she said, “led me to The Tote Project.”